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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sneakers 101...

This is kind of old but I thought I would post it for anyone who hasnt seen it before. Some of the facts are pretty interesting so if you have a couple minutes read through them all.

Sneaker Facts: 101 Things You Might Not Have Known About Sneakers:

1- One of the earliest references to "sneaks" appears in James Greenwood's 1873 account of London life, 'In Strange Company.'

2- The management team that resurrected Adidas in the '90s was made up primarily of ex Nike execs.

3- Nike Inc.'s finances have never been in the red.

4- A.G. Spalding made the first basketball shoe, around 1900.

5- It took Nike three launches to make its skateboarding line a success.

6- Nike could sue Nigo, but the company probably wouldn't win.Anyone who's ever looked at one of A Bathing Ape's popular Bapestas has surely noticed their striking similarity to Nike's Air Force 1s—sans swoosh and plus gaudy colorways. Though neither Nike nor Nigo will comment on this astounding likeness, one can't help but wonder if Nike could sue Nigo for patent infringement? "If [a sneaker is] functionally the same but looks a little different, you're safe," says Dick Turner, a partner at the Sughrue law firm in Washington, D.C. "Changing things just a little bit will change the look enough where it will be outside of the design patent. To win on a design patent it almost has to be copied." Sneaker companies file for design and technology patents by submitting a drawing to the United States Patent and Trademark Offices. (According to the USPTO's website, Nike owns over 2,000 patents.) While design patents are a fairly recent phenomenon, it's much easier to file for technology infringement. "Take the [Reebok] Pumps," Turner says. "Anybody else that makes a pump-able shoe is going to have problems regardless of what it looks like. It covers a pretty big area of real estate." And thus it seems that Nigo may continue pumping Air Faux-ce 1s all the livelong day, ay! (TG)

7- Known as a California skate company, Etnies actually started in France.

8- Goodyear, a division of the U.S. Rubber Company, is the original manufacturer of Keds.

12- By dividing the model number by 10, you can determine the approximate retail price of a New Balance sneaker. (i.e. NB574=$57.40)

13- The letters D and C are the 4th and 3rd letters in the alphabet, and many of the details on DC's shoes are based either on 3s, 4s, or the combination of the two, 7.

14- The Air Force 1 was the first basketball shoe to use air technology when it debuted in 1982.

15- The Air Max 1, which debuted in '87, was the first Nike to expose the air bubble.

16- Jacob The Jeweler created a diamond encrusted Allen Iverson "Question" sneaker with 246 white-gold diamonds. It sold in 2004 in the Eastbay catalog holiday gift guide for $65,000. What a steal!

17- Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman started Blue Ribbon Sports, Nike's forerunner company with $500 each. B.R.S. is now a division of Nike specializing in clothes that complement its kicks.

18- Customization is all the rage today, but it's nothing new to vans.For those who believe Nike i.d. is the best thing since shelltoes, peep game. Before sneaker customization went from niche hobby to overpriced mainstream trend, Vans was on it. With its understated designs, Vans may not seem like a beacon of cutting-edge creativity. But don't get it twisted; the company started customizing sneakers in March 1966. Founder Paul Van Doren believed in selling shoes directly to customers and allowed them to bring fabric to the factory to be turned into a shoe. "We're known for having funky patterns and doing Hawaiian prints, and stuff like that," explains Vans spokesperson Chris Overholser. "And the way that started was people would bring in their board shorts that got too ratty, and we could pull fabric from them and make them into shoes." The company put a halt to its custom business when its factories moved overseas in 1995. In 2004, Vans got back in the game with its website, shop.vans.com. Who want what? (DS)

19- Rocky Balboa wore Converse. The "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art have his bronzed soles set in concrete.

20- In 2001, K-Swiss acquired the rights to Royal Elastics. Royal Elastics prides itself on making sneakers that are "elasticated." Ironically, K-Swiss are designed to prevent stretching.

21- In True Crime: New York City, players have to search for special-edition Puma sneakers and return them to shoe stores. Puma produced the actual Puma x True Crime RS-100 sneaker, and they could be found in the same stores featured in the video game.

22- When the original Nike Dunk pack was released in school colors to NCAA basketball teams (Michigan, Syracuse, Kentucky), Georgetown wanted to have its own distinct model. As a result, the team received a Terminator that read "Hoyas" across its back.

23- In 1985, the NBA banned the red and black Air Jordan Is because they were "too colorful," and fined Jordan for wearing them. The move spawned the marketing campaign "Banned By The NBA."

24- On May 27, 1990, a huge shipment of Nikes got lost at sea.In one of the strangest shipping accidents ever, 80,000 pairs of Nikes went missing in the Pacific Ocean en route from South Korea to the U.S. Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been recovering Air Solo Flight, Strike Force, and Pegasus from that overboard shipment ever since. "Nike makes durable shoes," says Ebbesmeyer. "Apparently they're tougher than the ocean." Now, Ebbesmeyer tracks their movement. "If you follow the shoes you can follow the currents." He says a shoe from the spill can drift at an average rate of seven miles per day. "There's 24,000 miles around the Earth at the equator. So they've been floating long enough to go around the world twice." Dope floats, indeed. (RD)

25- Sneakers got their first shine on the silver screen in 1961.In addition to talking deer and magic nannies, Walt Disney Pictures was also the first movie studio to highlight performance sneakers. In the 1961 film The Absent Minded Professor, physical chemistry prof Ned Brainard invents a gravity defying substance called Flubber ("flying rubber") and successfully tests it on the struggling basketball team. With a little dab of Flubber added to the soles of its players' sneakers, Medfield overcomes a 43-point deficit and defeats rival Rutland College. Knicks fans, relax; movies are make-believe. You've got about as good a chance of getting your hands on Flubber as you do getting Starbury and Stevie Franchise to improve their teammates. (TG)

26- Bulletproof?When hip-hop and skateboard culture converged, it was a no-brainer that some poor skate kid was gonna get shot. Luckily for Dante Formosa, he was wearing pro Colin McKay's signature Havocs from DC Shoes. On July 4, 2004, Dante—12 years old at the time—was enjoying a Philadelphia fireworks show when shots rang out. "I looked down and saw a hole in my shoe. I took my shoe off. It was all bloody," Dante told NBC News. "My friend pulled out a bullet." Apparently DC's rugged design, meant to protect from grip-tape abuse, slowed the stray bullet. Dante was wounded, but it could have been much worse. "I am happy that our durability can stop a bullet; my next shoe will have Kevlar sides just for that reason," jokes Colin McKay. "Oh, and they will work well for skating, too." While never intending to produce a shoe that could withstand a blast of lead, DC does build skate shoes tough enough to handle the rigors of skateboarding. "We test our kicks in the most abusive way possible—with a skateboard," says DC Founder and Chief Brand Officer Ken Block. He wouldn't comment on the possibility of stealing G-Unit from RBK. (BS)

27- The Beatles felt Nike subverted their "Revolution."In 1987, Nike used the Beatles song "Revolution" in a commercial after reportedly paying Capitol Records Inc. $250,000 for the North American licensing rights. Apple Records, the Beatles' recording company across the pond, had adamantly opposed the transaction and sued Nike Inc., Capitol Records Inc., EMI Records Inc., and the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency for $15 million. Capitol-EMI said that Apple director and shareholder Yoko Ono had supported the deal. An out-of-court settlement eventually resolved a tangled web of lawsuits between the Beatles and their American and British record companies, and the terms have been kept secret. In March 1988, Nike stopped airing ads featuring "Revolution." When in doubt, blame Yoko. (JM)

28- Michael Jordan nearly ended his Nike sponsorship after his first two sneakers. In an attempt to convince MJ of Nike's commitment to him, designer Tinker Hatfield included him in the design process—an unprecedented move at the time. The Jordan III was the first in the line to featurethe Jumpman logo, and it helped convince him to stay.

29- Michael Jordan wanted to sign with Adidas in 1984, not Nike. He was a self-described "Adidas nut," and told his agent that if the deal was even close he'd sign with them.

30- Members of the Heaven's Gate cult, which conducted a mass suicide in 1997, died rocking fresh black leather Nike sneakers with a white swoosh, giving new meaning to the term "fresh to death."

34- Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, first marketed in 1917, are the all-time best-selling sneakers, with total sales nearing 600 million pairs.

35- In 2005, Air Force 1s accounted for $1 billion in Nike sales, and a profit margin of 70 percent.

36- In 1980, the branded athletic shoe business was less than $1 billion. Today, industry experts put it at close to $8 billion, not including accessories and clothing.

37- Computer loveLaunched in 2005, the Adidas 1 running shoe features a magnetic sensor, a microprocessor capable of five million calculations per second, and a motor-driven cable system that adjusts compression and cushioning based on your weight and the strength of your footfalls. It is not the first computer shoe, however. In 1984, the Adidas Micropacer boasted a digital pedometer in the tongue that displayed distance, time, average speed, and caloric expenditure. By 1985, the more complex Puma RS featured a computerized pedometer that could transfer data to an Apple IIe or Commodore 64 after the run. With improved technology, now humans can serve their computer masters even while running from them! (JM)

38- FootlooseEccentric, 6'11" NBA center Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins was a true pioneer. In 1975 he was the first high school player to go directly to the league, and he made history by shattering a backboard with a dunk in 1979. His oddest groundbreaking came in '82, when the Nike-endorsed behemoth was offered money by rival brand Pony. Instead of taking sides, he took the money and wore one shoe from each company (Nike wasn't amused and promptly dumped Dawkins). Okay, considering that Dawkins claimed to hail from the planet Lovetron, where his girl Juicy Lucy still lived, it may not have been his oddest moment. (JM)

39- The name Adidas was derived from its founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. Puma was started by Rudolf Dassler, Adi's brother, in 1948, after the two had a personal falling out.

40- Nike did not terminate Kobe Bryant following his arrest for sexual assault in July 2003.

42- Martina Hingis blamed Sergio Tacchini sneakers, which she endorsed and wore, for her seemingly career ending ankle injury in 2002. She began competing again this year, wearing Adidas.

43- Diadora has a museum devoted to its history and athletes housed in the basement of its store in Florence, Italy.

44- Before B.R.S. was renamed Nike, Phil Knight proposed the name Dimension 6.

45- Carolyn Davidson, the Portland State University graphic design student who designed the Nike swoosh in 1971, was originally paid a fee of $35. In 1983, Nike gave her shares of its stock and a diamond ring featuring the swoosh.

46- Arthur Ashe, the late tennis star whose name is licensed for a shoe line through Run Athletics, was the first African-American man to win Wimbledon, in 1970. Sadly, apartheid kept him out of the South Africa Open. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

47- Dee Brown was the first NBA Slam Dunk Champion to wear Reebok Pumps.At the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest, Brown repeatedly pressed the inflatable basketball on the tongue of his Reebok Pumps, sprinted downcourt, leaped, and flushed a diagonal left-handed slam. The company sold 20 million pairs of the $170 Pumps in four years, but their popularity faded. The Pump's latest edition is the Romulus, a high-tech upgrade. "When we took prototypes out, we had the manual pump and the new version," says Bill McInnis, Reebok's Director of Advanced Concepts. "Everybody picked the pump ball first, but once they tried [the Romulus] on, the conversion rate was 100 percent." Still, neither guarantees a Slam Dunk title. (TG)

48- In 2002, the Jordan XVII retailed for $200 and was the most expensive sneaker ever at retail.

49- William Riley, founder of the New Balance Arch Company in 1906, based early designs on chicken's feet.

50- New Balance makes up to six different widths—from 2A to 6E.

51- The Nike waffle sole was originally called the "nipple sole" by its inventor, Bill Bowerman.

52- After realizing that they wear the same size, Steven Malkmus of Pavement once traded a pair of sneakers with Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz.

53- Skater Stevie Williams was first signed to DC shoes, but now skates in his own line of Reebok DGK models. "DGK" stands for William's group of friends, who went by the name "Dirty Ghetto Kids."

54- Reebok signed Allen Iverson to a lifetime contract on November 28, 2001. A.I. gets a reported $7 million a year from the company.

55- Jordans are released on Saturdays so that kids don't skip school to get 'em.

56- Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. clothing line makes sneakers through Royal Elastics for both women, and, believe it or not, men. That shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

58- Marc Jacobs bases the designs of the Louis Vuitton sneakers on "ordinary occurrences and everyday anecdotes." You couldn't tell?

59- Reebok almost signed LeBron James to a $75 million-dollar contract, until Nike snatched him up for $90 mil.

60- In 2003, Reebok signed a three-year-old basketball prodigy named Mark Walker. They scooped the youngster after his parents sent in a video of Walker making 18 consecutive free throws on an 8-foot hoop. In a press release Reebok referred to Walker as "short of everything but talent."

61- Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman once thought the large swoosh made the shoes appear heavy.

62- According to market research company The NPD Group, sneakers priced over $100 made up only $611 million of the $8 billion that customers spent on footwear during 2005.

63- Skate legend Tony Hawk and MTV jackass Bam Margera skate in Adio footwear, a sneaker company based out of Cali.

64- Nike SB sneakers have monthly drops rather than hard release dates, making it harder to predict when they'll arrive in stores.

65- The big sneaker companies, such as Nike and Adidas, own viewing boxes at most large sporting events like the U.S. Open and NBA Finals. However, should you step into their box wearing the sneakers of a competitor, you may be promptly asked to go barefoot— or offered to exchange your shoes temporarily for the host brand's.

66- Adidas helped win a World Cup.At the 1954 World Cup, Adidas founder Adi Dassler made a halftime adjustment even Phil Jackson would be proud of. The underdog West German soccer team was down 2-0 to Hungary's "Mighty Magyars"—undefeated since 1950—and having trouble with the stadium's sloppy turf. "Adi had a very close relationship with the team and worked with them," says Ben Pruess, Global Head of Heritage for Adidas. "He introduced a new piece of footwear with a screw-in stud, which gave players better traction." Germany pounced with two quick goals to tie the match 2-2, and with six minutes left, Helmut Rahn scored the game winner after Hungary's keeper slipped on the wet grass. It was Germany's first World Cup, but more importantly, inspired a nation devastated by war. "This sporting event really gave them pride," Pruess says. Proof positive, a dramatic feature about events surrounding the game, Das Wunder Von Bern, was released in Germany in 2003. Adidas is for the children! (TG)

67- MTV refuses to play Nelly's "Air Force Ones" clip."Air Force Ones" were the three dirrty words Nelly couldn't say on Music Television. In early 2003, MTV, MTV2, and VH1 banned the "Air Force Ones" video due to excessive product placement. For those MTV die-hards who refused to watch BET, which did show the video, here's what you missed: Nelly and the St. Lunatics perform an impromptu concert after fans interrupt their shopping spree. How did you live without that? (TG)

68- Adidas's Stan Smith is named after a tennis player who won two U.S. Opens and Wimbledon in the early '70s, not the titular character of Fox's 'American Dad.'

69- In August 2005, Adidas acquired Reebok for $3.8 billion—the deal should be finalized by this summer.

70- Reebok and Pharrell share a love akin to Eminem and Kim. After falling out and threatening to sue each other, the two reconciled and went back into business together. You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Creams!

71- Until 1966, Converse All-Stars were only available in black and white.

72- The 1992 film Sneakers, which starred Robert Redford and River Phoenix, had nothing to do with sneaks. FYI, the forthcoming documentary Just For Kicks, does.

73- New Balancesneakers were emblazoned with "Made in the USA," but the company has factories in China and was taken to court over the claim.

74- Reebok is named after an African gazelle called a rhebok.

75- Skechers and L.A. Gear are both the brainchild of Robert Greenberg. Say what you say, he's rich.

76- Adidas's three-stripe logo is rumored to represent the three sons of Adidas founder, Adi Dassler.

77- On the CoqIt might not produce an anthem like "My Adidas," but legendary rapper DMC has found his new fit in upscale French sneaker brand Le Coq Sportif. After seeing Run's "Time For A Change" Phat Farm sneaker campaign and undergoing personal revelations (he recently discovered that he was adopted), D went searching for a shoe that would match his new persona. When a friend brought him to Le Coq Sportif's showroom, he immediately knew he'd found a sneaker for an older Darryl "DMC" McDaniels. "In the '80s, I was always afraid to mess with it because it was too fly for me," D remembers. "I can get fly now." While artists like the Fresh Prince and LL Cool J were known to rock the triangle rooster in the '80s, the brand (which was actually owned by Adidas until 1995) has been largely unknown to American consumers in the last 10 years. "DMC is known for making Adidas what it is today," says Jennifer Delevante, Marketing Communications Director of newly launched Le Coq Sportif North America. "He considered Adidas to be part of his great past, but he's reinventing himself, and he needed something new. He's become a brand ambassador." While the company's new ads will be tied to the release of his new album, Checks, Thugs and Rock 'n Roll, D is more than just a public face. With input in colorways, cuts, and styles, he's helping to define the future of the brand. "I'm not just another rapper with a sneaker line. That's the worst thing that I could ever do," he says. "We didn't do Adidas for any commercial reasons, that's what we wore. This is what I wear now." Just close your eyes and imagine a concert hall with thousands of 40-year-olds holding their Le Coq Sportifs proudly over their heads. (BF)

78- The Nike Air Max 95 design was based on the human body. The midsole represents the spine, the graduated panels represent the muscles, the lace loops are the ribs, and the mesh represents the skin.

79- In 2005, Reebok pulled a 50 Cent commercial because it showed 50 counting from one to nine, referring to the nine times he was shot. Reebok thought it was a positive message, but a mother whose son was shot to death complained, so the company pulled the ad.

80- Keds was the first company to call its rubber-soled shoes "sneakers."

81- In 1968, Puma became the first shoe to introduce Velcro fasteners.

82- Asics is an acronym for the Latin phrase "Anima Sana In Corpore Sano," which translates to "a sound mind in a sound body."

85- Etnies made the first pro-model skate shoe.Founded 20 years ago by the Rautureau Apple Shoe Company and skateboarder Alain "Platoon" Montagnet, Etnies was the first shoe company to be owned by a skateboarder, to develop a pro-skate shoe, and to sign a skater to a contract. It was luck—as much as visionary thinking—that helped bring about the signing of California's Natas Kaupas. "The original owner came to Venice Beach," explains current C.E.O., owner, and ex pro-skater Pierre André Senizergues, "and saw Natas on the cover of Thrasher, so he went to a local skate shop, got his address, went to his house, and found him. It was lucky. He could have not been there. They decided right then to make the deal." Sometimes opportunity knocks, literally. (DS)

86- When Saucony started in 1910, it made "carpet slippers," constructed from actual rugs.

87- The Air Max 360 heel pull-tab with two lines inside a 16-dot circle represents the birthday of designer Martin Lotti.

88- The "PF" in PF Flyers stands for "posture foundation."

89- Fabolous got his kicks collection exposed on ESPN's 'It's The Shoes.'When ESPN's Kevin Wilde and David Jacoby decided to make a show about sneakers, Bobbito Garcia was the first and last name on their list of hosts, and rightly so. Garcia, famous for hosting Stretch Armstrong's popular '90s college radio show, penned the groundbreaking article "Confession of a Sneaker Addict" in The Source in 1991, as well as the sneaker culture tome, Where'd You Get Those? New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960 to 1987 [Testify, '02]. The producers had no idea the resulting half-hour show, which airs on ESPN2 at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday nights, and features segments on sneakerhead dons like Flight Club's Chris Vidal, and celebs Carmelo Anthony and Trick Daddy, would expose F-A-B-O's F-A-U-X collection. "All the kids on niketalk.com were like, 'Yo, Fabolous was showing some fake Jordans on the screen and he didn't even know it,'" Bobbito recalls. "I don't think he knows to this day." The same haters might be inclined to think that Fab's kicks aren't the only phony thing about sneaker TV. "You got a host that got legitimacy up his fuckin' asshole," says Bobbito, unfazed. "So just sit back and enjoy it." (TK)

90- Hungar For MoreThought every corner of the universe had been dusted for retro sneakers? Not quite. In 1971, Hungarian athletic shoe company Tisza introduced sneakers in communist Eastern European countries as an alternative to the standard-issue leather shoes. When the Iron Curtain dropped in 1989, Western brands soon buried the once popular Tiszas. "Slowly, we are getting over this shock of capitalism and these new brands," says 23-year-old Tisza designer Zsofi Fenyvesi. The line was re-released in 2002 and Hungarian youth embraced Tisza, the only fashion and shoe company to design and produce in their country. It's a distinction that also keeps the shoes, um, limited edition. "It would be great to have products in other countries," says Fenyvesi, "but it isn't worth it because the shoes are produced in Hungary, not Vietnam, so it cannot be sold cheap." For us, by us—for real. (MJ)

91- New York's Department of Correction forbids prisoners in NYC jails to wear Nike Air or similar sneakers because razors and drugs can be stored in the hollowed-out sole of the air bubble. Ironically, prisoners can wear Converse Weapons, as they can't be used as a weapons cache.

92- DC Shoes's L.A. headquarters stands on the very spot where founder Damon Way was conceived.

93- Kurt Cobain died wearing a pair of black suede Converse One Stars.

94- Fila signed Grant Hill to an $80 million deal in 1997. Since then, Hill has played in only 249 games. In two and a half seasons, LeBron has already played in over 200.

95- In 1991, MC Hammer was endorsing British Knights.

96- When Reebok signed Yao Ming in 2003, it was the first time the company won an endorsement battle against Nike.

97- Andy Roddick's signature Reebok shoe was called the "Figjam DMX." "Figjam," which stands for "Fuck I'm good…just ask me," comes from the nickname of Aussie Rules Football player Nathan Buckley.

98- Nike Air technology was born in 1979.

99- LA Gear still exists.

100- Nike Cortez were born at Asics.In 1969, Asics, then known as Tiger, released the Cortez. Phil Knight, who'd been a sales rep for Tiger in the '60s, felt that he'd been instrumental in the development of the shoe, so he took the design with him when he left to form the company that would later become Nike. Thus began a lengthy legal battle. In '74, the courts decided that both parties had the rights to the design of the shoe, but that Tiger could not use the name Cortez. As a result, the company renamed its shoe the Corsair. Thirty years later, both models are still available.

101- When it premiered in '73, the Puma Clyde was the first endorsed basketball shoe. When it came time to re-release the shoe, Puma didn't have an original blueprint, so designers and shoe engineers meticulously dissected an employee's deadstock pair to re-create the specs. Source

1 comment:

I just wanted to share some piece of information for those looking out to buy exercise shoes. It’s very important to shop for the right shoes without being carried away by the mirrors, lights, great displays and other such luring factors where you often tend to forget the comfort of the shoe.

Make sure you wear thick socks or those that you often wear for exercising so that you get the right size shoe. Another interesting point to notice is that our feet tend to swell a bit in the evening so buying shoes during evening is the ideal time as this will help you buy the shoe for the maximum foot size. Most important of all is don’t go by the pricing of the shoes while buying them. A high price does not always mean top quality. The price tends to be higher since the shoes are endorsed by reputed personalities. Buy your shoes based on the frequency of usage. If you are in a regular exercise routine, then you can consider extending your budget.